Stocks thudded lower on Thursday as Wall Street tore a rapid retreat down a wall of economic worry rooted in the nation’s lingering employment weakness.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 513 points, or 4 percent, sinking well below 11,500. The Nasdaq was off 137 points, or 5 percent, at 2,556, and the S&P 500 tumbled 60 points, or 5 percent, to 1,200.

Traders also fled from crude oil, sending the commodity down 5.8 percent lower to $86.63 a barrel, its lowest settlement since mid-February.

“We’re just worrying ourselves to death,” said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank. “How do you get out of this roller coaster of the relentless onslaught of bad news?”

European stocks fell sharply on worries that Italy or Spain might require help from the European Union.

“The one thing this perhaps does do, it effectively dispels the myth that the US could achieve a self -sustaining recovery all on its own. Longer term, we’re going to have to be a lot more careful monitoring what is going on in Europe and emerging markets,” said McCain, noting the implications for US exports.

The Dow had lapsed into a loss for the year.

For every stock rising nearly a dozen fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

Ahead of the opening bell, the Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 400,000; initial claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 401,000.

Tomorrow the government releases the number of jobs created and unemployment figure for July.